Chicken and Yellow Rice

Take out the inside bag of the chicken. If you wish to put any of these parts (usually neck, gizzards, and liver) in your yellow rice, place in pan with the whole chicken. Place whole chicken in pan (dutch oven type). Season chicken on both sides with Adobo seasoning, Salt, and Pepper. Cover the chicken with water close. Place another teaspoon of Adobo seasoning and 3 bouillon cubes in the water (this gives the chicken meat additional flavor). Leave one to two inches from top of pan. Boil for 2 hours or until tender and falls of bone, turn occasionally.

Step 2:

Remove chicken from pan and place on plate to cool. Leave the water that the chicken was cooking in, as this has created a broth that the yellow rice will be cooked in.

Step 3:

Once the chicken is cool, pull the skin, fat, and bones from the chicken meat and discard. Pull the meat into small pieces and place into the chicken broth.

Step 4:

Heat pan with broth (broth should be half in the pan, if not add additional water) and meat. Place in rice and cook until rice is tender.

Serve once the rice is tender.

The leftovers can be placed into freezer containers and frozen for another delicious night’s meal. Enjoy!!

This can be served with a side vegetable. I prefer sugar snap peas with this on the side.

I have been busy lately, so sorry for not posting anything for some time. Now I am back and you should see regular postings from me on a weekly basis again.

Today, it’s time to take down the Christmas tree and put the decorations away. In preparation for that I am making a hearty breakfast for the hubby to have strength to put all the stuff away in the many boxes that hold my precious Christmas items.

Below is an easy breakfast start for anyone that doesn’t want to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen, but also wants a wonderful warm breakfast for those loved ones.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place 2 Tablespoons butter in an 9 X 9 glass baking dish. Place in oven.
While butter is melting in the oven.
Place eggs, milk (cream if used), salt, pepper in bowl. Beat in bowl with whisk or fork for about one minute. (This makes the eggs fluffy).
Pull the butter out of the oven once melted in baking dish.
Heat skillet for sausages (number 5 setting).
Pour the egg mixture into the baking dish and place into the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out of the oven and stir eggs. Place back into the oven for 10 minutes.
Place sausages into skillet for cooking while eggs are finishing up. Turning when sausages look half cooked and browned to your liking. Should finish about the time the eggs are finished in the oven.
When the eggs are done, take out of oven, sprinkle shredded cheese over top.

Breakfast should be ready to serve now. Oven Scrambled Eggs were adapted from:

Thanksgiving is over and now time to prepare for the Christmas holiday. This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to do a lot of things during the holidays. One of my special things is to have a cookie decorating party. I started this traditional about 5 years ago. I bake cookies in advance of the party for everyone to decorate. My sister and I prepare icing in different colors and place into decorating bags. I have different tips that can be used to decorate the cookies with. Throughout the year and just after the holidays, I look for different varieties of sprinkles. This is to prepare for the next years’ party event. It is interesting how the kids and adults put their artistic side to work. This is a fun activity for all ages. I have some kids that remember this event every year and ask when it will be. This year it was my sister that is wanting to know when we can plan it.

You can mix other events in the party as well. One year we added an cooking event to the mix. Everyone brought a dish with the recipe that participated in the judging. Each dish was numbered 1 – 5. There was a judging by all that came to the party. There were 4 categories with a numbering system to judge from taste, appearance/presentation, recipe, theme. The person with the highest score won a prize.

You can also make it a fun gift exchange in the party, where everyone will bring a gift. I have bought gifts for prizes where we played games like Christmas Trivia, Name that song, Christmas Bingo, and an ugly sweater contest just to name a few.

There are so many fun things to do during the holidays. Let your imagination runaway with itself and invent your own tradition. This is what will build up memories to last for a lifetime.

Here are a few links to share with you for some cookie decorating ideas:

It has been a bit colder this week in the South. I feel for all those in the upper northeast these last few weeks. Listening to some of those that I know in those hard hit areas is heartbreaking. Please if you have extra clothes or food be sure to bring them to the charities helping these folks. If you cannot donate these items, donating a few dollars can also help. These folks are really in need right now. As Americans it is a time to give back help others in our nation.

The holidays are just aroud the corner. It seems like they are approaching faster as the days go by. Stores are already getting ready for the Christmas holidays too. Black Friday ads are already being posted out there. I am still planning for Thanksgiving holidays, so Christmas is not what I will be planning for until that is done.

I saw on another blog this week someone posted a new gadget for canning jellies and jams. It looks very interesting. If you know someone that likes this kind of stuff, this would make a perfect gift for them. Here is the website link to this new gadget I discovered http://www.freshpreserving.com/JamMaker.aspx.

Below is my new recipe for this to share with you all. Since it was getting a bit colder this is something you could make and freeze leftovers too.

Suddenly, the debate tonight is boring me. Instead, I figured that I would write on my blog. Busy week’s ahead as the holidays fast approach us. Trying to figure out what the grandkids and other little ones will be dressing up when they come to my house on Halloween. Oh how I wish I could turn back time and be a kid again. It was so much fun. Now we just get to play like we are adults instead. I did that when I was little, but didn’t know that now I would be living like some of those pretend moments created when we were young. The holidays for me bring so much joy and sense of happiness. I love spending time with people on a personal note and the holidays sure bring that. I look forward in the next few months working on some handmade gifts for people. I am currently in the planning phases. My husband’s aunt sent me some packages of holiday decorations this week. It was like Christmas in October. She has no idea how much I enjoyed opening her packages. I just love her and enjoy spending time with her when I go to visit. Wish my husband’s family lived closer, but I still act like they are near by. However, I just need to visit them more in the next year.

Well it has been a long weekend and I am ready to hit the hay. Before I leave, enjoy my recipe below.

Italian Sausage Bites

Ingredients:

Cook and prep time: 30-35 minutes

1-2 packages of Mild Italian Sausages

1 Green Pepper

1 Red Pepper

1 small to medium onion (depending on how well you like them)

Italian Seasoning

1) Cut the casing off each of the Italian Sausages.

2) Slice each Italian Sausage into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces.

3) Place cut pieces into a skillet, cut side down. Cook at MED to MED LOW heat.

4) Sprinkle each piece with Italian Seasoning.

5) Slice Green Pepper, Red Pepper, and onion into long slices and place on a plate.

6) Cook until each piece is half way cook. Turn each piece over.

7) Sprinkle each piece again with Italian Seasoning.

8) Cook for about 2-3 minutes.

9) Add vegetables to the top of the Italian Sausage bites in the skillet.

10) Cook another 3-5 minutes.

12) Stir up the mixture and cook until vegetables are done to your likeness (I cook for about 3-5 minutes turning occasionally).

Serving with another side vegetable such as fried potatoes, peas, corn, rice, or spaghetti.

Good Morning to all.
The sun is shining here today. Last weekend, my husband and I had our very first vacation with our two grandsons. It was so very nice to spend time with them and my daughter. This is one of my favorite places to visit, Elizabeth Pointe Lodge in Amelia Island. It is on the beach and just very quiet and quaint. Here is a picture of the Inn. The staff is very friendly.

Every year Amelia Island’s Bed & Breakfast organization hosts a Cookie Tour. It’s one of those things that I like to do just before the holidays get crazy. Which is how I found this Inn. Below is a link to the annual Cookie Tour if you are interested in going.

Kick off the shoes and ready to relax. Tomorrow, plan on going to see the grandkids at some point. Monday is a holiday for some folks. In celebration I am gonna share with you one of my recipes. Enjoy!

POTATO SOUP RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

5 lb bag of russet potatoes, peeled & cubed in small pieces

1 small yellow onion

¼ cup of carrot shavings (use a vegetable peeler to get these shavings)

8 cups of water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 ½ stick of butter

2 teaspoons of salt

1 ½ cups of milk

1 Dumpling recipe (Optional)

Soup directions:

Combine the first seven ingredients into a large dutch oven size pan. Cook on medium high heat (number 8 setting). Cook for until potatoes begin to become soft, approximately 30-45 minutes. Add the milk after cooking about 30 minutes. About 10-15 minutes prior to serving add dumplings (optional).

DUMPLING RECIPE

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together; add liquid and mix to make a batter that can be dropped from a spoon. Drop onto boiling soup, being careful there is plenty of liquid. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size of dumplings.

This is my first attempt at creating a blog. You ask what the reason for me to do this? I found out last week that one of my recipes will be published in a Gooseberry Patch cookbook. Hence, reason for my new blog. Soon enough I hope to be a pro at this.